Marcel Irnie’s 2011 race season has been tumultuous to say the least. He has had the highs of his first professional victory and the lows of many mechanical gremlins. There has been much uncertainty regarding equipment and where his future lies in the sport. Over the course of this season, Irnie has raced on no less than five different motorcycles; with only one of them being fully competitive. The uncertainty followed Irnie to Washington State as he opted to take part in this round using teammate Aaron Holmberg’s Suzuki GSXR 750 for the weekend.

The Suzuki was basically stock and set up for the heavier Holmberg. They took it to tuner Nels from 2wheeldynoworks.com on Friday night to give the Suzuki a run on the dyno with the hope that they could squeeze a few more ponies from the engine. Irnie purchased race fuel from fellow BC racer Jon Friesen which gave the Suzuki a sizable boost of 6 horsepower. Despite the improved power output of 132 horsepower, the engine had a discernible hiccup around 10,000 RPM which could not be traced in time. The hope was that this glitch would not be noticeable on the race track.

Unfortunately as Saturday’s practice session unfolded, it became clear that the engine glitch was noticeable, but only at full throttle "lol". But the bike was most certainly suitable for battle. As Irnie and Holmberg’s races were back-to-back, it would be impossible for both riders to participate. Aaron opted to forgo Saturday’s racing and spend the day as a corner worker, a step required for Novice graduation.

The first race for Irnie was the 750 Supersport class. Marcel started from the third row and worked his way up to 4th spot as the field exited the first corner. On Lap 6, Brad DeLong got by, leaving Irnie in 5th spot. A mistake on lap 7 led to Irnie hitting his knee on the inside curb of the 'Bus Stop.' As the pain was overwhelming, Irnie immediately exited the track to seek an ice pack and access his injury. Despite racing on used Dunlop's that were far too soft for a 12 lap race, (ntec 7614 soft soft compound) Irnie managed a fastest lap of 1:27.611. Irnie literately melted the rear tire after six laps, causing him to change his "simulation" riding style to "drift." Unfortunately, the bus stop caught him out pretty good! Ironically, Irnie managed a faster lap time on the 110 horsepower Buyredline stock R6, with a 1.27.265 at the previous WMRRA round 6. The only difference being Irnie purchased his first new tire in the USA ever, and used it for the previoius weekend, finishing 4th in 600sb, and 5th in 750sb.

"Sooo... this is what new tires feel like... just awesome", mumbled Irnie. Not many racers can say they never purchased a new tire in four years of racing with WMRRA/OMRRA? Irnie's tire budget is actually zero, as he used his Dunlop contingency obtained from winning Formula Ultra in Portland last July. (Global Canada News Interview)

During Sunday morning’s practice session Irnie’s knee was bruised, but ready for the 750 Superbike race. Despite a poor start, Irnie soon fought his way up to 5th position. For the second day in a row, Irnie diced with Brad Delong. Again soft tires and a scorching hot track surface led to greasy and unpredictable handling. Irnie settled for 5th position with a fastest lap of just 1:28.440.

Aaron Holmberg raced in the Novice class and earned a respectable 4th place out of 29 starters, using the same worn Dunlops!

The next race for Irnie Racing is at Portland International Raceway, October 8-9, 2011.